Building your own brand equity

When software expert Manjunath Gowda, who works with a leading tech company in Bangalore, was promoted to the managerial level a few months ago, he was over the moon. And why not? He had worked hard and deserved the position. But within weeks he began to wonder if he was prepared for this. Gowda, whose job earlier confined him to the office cubicle, was now out meeting clients, making big presentations, doing power lunches and hobnobbing with heads of companies.

On many occasions, Gowda found himself tongue-tied when he was actually supposed to be making small talk. While making presentations, he wanted to fill the empty minutes (when the slides took too long to load) to crack a joke or two. But he just didn’t have the confidence to take it through. So he decided he needed an overhaul.

“I got promoted into a management department when I came to Bangalore from the UK three years ago. In the UK, my job was purely technical, but it now involves meeting clients and making presentations. Though I am quite smart and confident, I realised it wasn’t enough,” says Gowda, who approached Persona, a grooming centre in Bangalore, with his problem.

Babita Narayanan, principal consultant of Persona then took charge. “We trained Manjunath in accent and articulation, communication, power dressing, fitness and nutrition, grooming and poise and we also taught him fine dining etiquette. I remember the first time we taught him how to hold the fork. He was holding it like a pen because someone had told him that was the right way,” says Narayanan.

“I now have much more confidence in the way I talk and present myself. I’ve now been recommending the course to my friends,” Gowda says.

Catering to the needs of many like Gowda are grooming centres that help you drop inhibition and help you present yourself well in different social situations. “Most techies, especially, aren’t groomed well. They face a number of issues when it comes to presenting themselves confidently in front of clients,” says Gowda.

But it’s not just the techies and top managers of companies that are looking for some grooming help. Personal grooming and personal brand equity are keenly sought after by people everywhere, including housewives. “The number of people who turn up at our centres is huge. What really surprised us recently was that a bunch of homemakers turned up asking us to train them in hosting a dinner party and in fine dining,” says Narayanan.

Fine dining, self-grooming, lessons in articulation, wardrobe makeovers, and carefully planned wellness regimes are all part of the package Persona offers in the last eight months that they have been in business. Clients can, of course, personalise these packages as per their need. “The regular courses are most popular with employees who are being sent on foreign trips and others who host international clients in India,” says Narayanan.

For stylist Zara Syed, grooming is also about inner wellness as it is about getting a sleek hairdo and a wardrobe makeover. Real grooming needs time and attention to oneself, says Syed who runs personal grooming course in Bangalore and Mumbai. “I know many people who have grand plans but can’t do it because of lack of time,” she says. “You also need to eat well, if you want to look well. I accompany most of my clients while shopping and help them choose the right clothes,” Syed adds. 

Narayanan even had a local politician knocking on her door asking her help to write a speech for him. “He said ‘Humko speech dena hai madam’ and I told him that I could help him once, but wouldn’t be able to do it all the time. I sent him to an English academy with a language specialist. He now writes his own speeches,” she says. 

There are a number of academies that work towards their clients building what they call “a brand image”.  Meetu Yadav, director of Annabelle Grooming Academy in Bangalore’s Cambridge Layout feels that awareness levels are quite high when it comes to looks, appearance and conversations these days. “It’s not just companies that send their employees for grooming courses.

College goers, job-hunters and housewives enroll too,” she says.
But the process of grooming is not an easy one, as the biggest challenge for trainers is that they are expected to point out personal flaws in their clients and correct them. “There’s always a good chance that some clients may feel hurt,” says Narayanan.
Yadav, however, vouches for the efficacy of these courses. “It’s all about giving it a shot. After all, you don’t have a second chance for a first impression, do you?” says Yadav.